Reina Sofía Gets New Director, J. Paul Getty Trust Gets New Board Chair, and More: Morning Links for June 7, 2023

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The Headlines

THE TOP JOB. The Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía in Madrid has a new leader, curator Manuel Segade, the Art Newspaper reports. He is currently the director of the Museo Centro de Arte Dos de Mayo in the Spanish capital; his curatorial credits include helming Spain’s pavilion at the 2017 Venice Biennale, which featured a solo show by Jordi Colomer. The Reina Sofía’s previous director, Manuel Borja-Villel, abruptly stepped down in January, after 15 years at the helm of the museum; he is co-curating the next Bienal de São Paulo. Borja-Villel had presented an acclaimed, progressive program at the institution that faced criticism from some right-wing outlets. Shortly after his departure, many artists and academics signed an open letter in his support.

HITTING PAUSE. The National Gallery of Australia has postponed an exhibition of work by Indigenous artists, pending an investigation into the creation of those pieces, the Sydney Morning Herald reports. The art in the show is to come from the APY Art Centre Collective. Back in April, the museum said that it was looking into allegations reported in the press that white studio assistants with the collective had altered art by artists there in order to make it more marketable. The collective has denied those claims and said in a statement that “we are content to wait for the independent panel to make their findings.” The show was supposed to open this month and run into October. Government officials in the country have also launched an investigation.

The Digest

Hauser & Wirth has added to its roster the revered sculptor Barbara Chase-Riboud, Alex Greenberger reports. She will show at the mega-gallery’s forthcoming location in Manhattan’s SoHo neighborhood when it opens in October. [ARTnews]

Members of Italy‘s government are mulling a plan to reduce the country’s import duty on art from 10 percent to 5.5 percent. If adopted, the move could cut into the art market in France, which currently applies a 5.5 percent rate, the lowest in the European Union. [The Art Newspaper]

Climate protesters demonstrated outside a major MoMA fundraising event last night, calling on the museum to cut ties with its board chair, Marie-Josée Kravis, because KKR—the private equity firm cofounded by her husband, Henry Kravis—has a major stake in the controversial Coastal GasLink Pipeline. [ARTnews]

Speaking of board chairs, Robert W. Lovelace has been named the next chair of the J. Paul Getty Trust’s board of trustees. Lovelace is vice chair and president of the finance-focused Capital Group Companies; he has been on the Getty’s board since 2016. [Press Release/Getty Center]

Artist Larry Achiampong currently has a show at the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art in Gateshead, England, and got the profile treatment in the Financial Times. Some of his work draws on video games, and he said, “Games are just like a piece of literature, and they can sit with you, and become timeless.” [FT]

Artists Margot DeMarco and Grace Miceli’s 350-square-foot Manhattan home got a close-up in Architectural Digest. They’ve both decorated elements of the rental, with DeMarco creating design pieces and Miceli handling painting. [Clever/Architectural Digest]

The Kicker

POWER PLAYERS. In the New York Times, Robin Pogrebin has a story about how the job of art-museum director has changed in recent years, with leaders grappling with unionization efforts, social-justice pushes, climate protests (see above), and a great deal more. But while they are facing new pressures, much in the field remains the same, the art historian Claire Bishop argued. “Zero has changed structurally,” Bishop told the paper. “The director’s job is to extract as much money as possible from the ultrawealthy, while reassuring them that their values and collection remain secure and unthreatened.” [NYT]